Industrialization and regional integration in West Africa

In West Africa, the level of development is generally low. Attempts to attain higher rates of economic progress through industrialization have not proved successful. This is partly due to two interrelated factors: first, the small size of most West African countries; and secondly the need to find markets for the manufactured products from these countries. In this connection, the formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 1976, is considered a step in the right direction. The study is an attempt to examine the industrialization process in West Africa, with the aim of finding ways by which it can be enhanced by ECOWAS. From an examination of the ways in which ECOWAS proposes to operate, however, it becomes clear that polarization of industrial development within the integration scheme will be inevitable. The study therefore proposes a planning approach towards an effective industrial development program within ECOWAS.